


The Best At What We Do

by Eternal Scribe (Shadowcat)



Category: Casino Royale (2006), James Bond (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Yuletide 2007
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-24
Updated: 2012-09-24
Packaged: 2017-11-14 23:31:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/520650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowcat/pseuds/Eternal%20Scribe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>Cold</i>, some called her. <i>Like a stone dragon</i>, was another <i>nom de plume</i> she had heard used to describe her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Best At What We Do

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Yuletide 2007

It wasn't easy, no matter what the others might think or assume.

Waiting here, or elsewhere, when he was on an assignment. Wondering how he was faring or how many bodies they would end up needing to clean up to get all evidence of their involvement to disappear. When the doors to her office opened, the others always saw her sitting behind her desk, writing things in ledgers or taking phone calls. They always saw her as being in complete control of every facet of the entire operation.

_Cold_ , some called her. _Like a stone dragon_ , was another _nom de plume_ she had heard used to describe her.

Oh, she heard all of the things that went on in their organization -- no matter how secretive everyone thought they were being. The rumors and the whispers always got back to her. She always heard what was going on.

It was her job, after all.

She had to keep up the appearance of remaining detached. In her position, she couldn't afford not to.

She sat at her desk and buried her face in her hands.

It had been close. Too close.

When the call came in that James had been poisoned, she'd had felt something seize up deep inside her. Had they lost James so soon? It was true that 00's didn't have a very long lifespan... but even this was much too soon for her liking. Yes, she had accused him of being arrogant and a blunt instrument -- which he was -- but the idea of him being dead so soon into their new positions didn't sit well with her.

Oh alright, James dying at this stage in their lives would be more than a career disappointment.

It had taken all of her training to continue to maintain the facade of dispassionate observer as they tried to walk him through the steps that would save his life; and in the end she hadn't remained quite as detached as she would have liked.

"Every other person in that room was just as upset, you know," Villiers said quietly, never looking up from where he was typing up his report of the events of the night as M got up from her desk and paced the room for a few moments.

"I almost lost my head."

"It was not even considered an overt or overly emotional reaction to the events of the moment."

M sighed as she dropped down into the chair with a glass of brandy. "Every other person in that room was not the person in charge who needs to keep a clear head no matter the circumstances at the time."

"No. But showing that you have a little concern for your operatives does in no means make you a softie. Your reputation remains in tact, ma'am."

She almost laughed at that. The laughter would have hurt her jaw from where she had spent a great deal of time clenching it as of late when it came to James Bond. "I give him his Double O status and the man acts like a damned fool. Almost gets himself killed by his target on his very first major assignment. Bloody idiot."

Villiers bit back a smile as he kept typing. "He survived, though."

"Because that girl from the treasury had too much curiosity and found him in time." The annoyance in her voice was genuine. "He got a civilian too deeply involved."

"That saved his life, ma'am," Villiers pointed out.

"That it did." She took a deep drink of the brandy and then sighed. "It was too close, Villiers."

"There are likely to be many more of those if he lives up to his character flaws and what we know of him."

_He very likely would come too close to death in any assignment she sent him on._ "He'd do it just to spite me."

"Quite probably." Villiers agreed. He knew James and knew that he liked to push people -- and push M. He highly doubted his change in status would cause him to check himself when it came to playing the games that he and the Director often participated in.

M nodded at him and then went into her inner office, shutting the door behind her. It didn't matter that Villiers probably had an idea what she was thinking or doing. One had to keep up appearances.

"You damned fool," she muttered, going over to the window. She wasn't sure if she was referring to James... or to herself.

She hadn't expected any of this. She hadn't expected him to come so close to dying so soon -- and she was wondering over the wiseness of her decision now. He had such potential. If he could keep his head in the damned game and not get sidetracked he could be the best Double O that MI6 had ever had.

_If._

There were so many ifs, so many plans and expectations now riding on this one man. She had known it would be a risk to make all of her plans for James. She had known there could be a high cost and that the memory of where the man and the plans originally came from might never forgive her if things went badly.

But...

But there were so many things he could do. That she _knew_ he could do. There were several reasons she had gone ahead and given him his license... promoted him to his new status. He was arrogant and foolhardy, but she was positive that she could work some of the roughness off of those edges of his. You didn't get to where she did by not knowing who you were dealing with, after all. She knew that he had his pride and his determination.

She also had her own determination. She would do whatever she had to maintain the status quo and she'd do her job, but she'd make sure he did his as well. If she had to push and prick and otherwise scold him into doing what he needed to do to keep alive, she would.

He had the ability to be one of the very best, and she would do everything she had to do in order to guarantee that it would happen.

She _was_ the best, after all.


End file.
